Being close to Laguna Beach is without a doubt, one of the best things about living in Orange County. If you're not from California, maybe you seen those horrible "reality" t.v. shows that are supposed to be an accurate reflection of Laguna. But I could care about pseudo-celebrities still trying to live out the days of their defunct television program. What I love about Laguna Beach is that it's the one little slice of culture that we have available to us here in south Orange County. Most of the buildings in my hometown are less than forty years old. There's little tangible history to speak of in the hills of the coastal desert that's been transformed into a sprawling suburban Mecca. In the city that I live in, miles upon miles of tract homes dot the various hillsides, surrounded by carefully manicured landscaping, and a seas of sport utility vehicles with little stick figure decals on back window indicating how many people are that particular persons family (because we're all dying to know that the lady in front of us has kids named Madison, Dakota and Trevor and has two dogs and a cat).
For a dude like me who has a taste for culture and the arts, it's pretty much a wasteland here. The one bastion of creativity and artistry that we have down here is Laguna Beach, which despite what the T.V. tells you is actually a pretty normal place. Every once in a while, I enjoy heading over to Laguna and strolling through the dozens of art galleries that line the Pacific Coast Highway. Every first thursday of the month, the gallery owners hold an "art walk" which is a kind of open house or gallery crawl, where art fans can check out each of the galleries, take in a bit of free booze, and be thoroughly entertained. My friend Dave is one such gallery owner, and tonight some of my friends and I decided to visit his gallery and take part in the art walk.
Sure, the art walk was great and I always love being exposed to new works of art, but I'd be lying if I didn't say that my favorite part of the night was going to the bar afterward. We ended up at a bar called Brussels, which over the years has become the regular spot that my friends and I usually visit when we go to Laguna. Brussels is a Belgian themed bar, and tonight I'm drinking a Belgian pale ale called Delirium Tremens.
Wait a second.... Delirium Tremens? Sounds scientific, what's the big idea? Well if you read the name of this beer and was curious about the origin, you've come to the right place my friends. Technically speaking, Delirium Tremens is a physical reaction of withdrawl in severe alcoholics. Symptoms include shaking, delirium, hallucinations, panic attacks, extreme anxiety and paranoia. Sounds lovely doesn't it? For most of us regular Joe's without a crippling alcohol problem, it would take a mighty fine beverage to get us to drink enough to develop a symptom like Delirium Tremens, which is why I'm guessing that the brewers at Huyghe Brewery choose this name for their beer. There are a lot of unique features to this beer, but perhaps the most striking is the curiously colored white bottle, complete with a label that sports Dancing Dragons, Crocodiles wearing hats and sunglasses and of course, pink elephants. Delirium Tremens is a beer than from the very beginning commands your attention, and beckons you to pull up a seat at the bar, turn of your phone, and sip it slowly. Delirium Tremens pours a nice warm golden yellow and smells of citrus and malts in the glass. It has a strong fruity and spicy flavor, which is pretty typical of Belgian ales, and I would probably rank this one right in the middle of the pack when compared to some of the others. All in all, Delirium Tremens is a pretty decent beer, but considering that I paid $16 for one bottle of this beer, I don't think that I'll be coming back to this one until I sell the rights to my life story to be made into a major motion picture and retire filthy, stinking rich with money to burn.
Op uw gezondheid and A Votre Sante!
Ian
http://www.delirium.be/
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